Some gun owners, saying that the National Rifle Association isn't battling hard enough for their rights, are taking the fight into their own hands.

The 4.3 million-member NRA, one of the most powerful and well-funded lobbying groups in Washington, has for 35 years dominated the push to expand gun rights.

But its strategies aren't aggressive or imaginative enough for some gun owners who want to openly carry holstered pistols in public places, or to exploit loopholes in state gun laws to purchase semi-automatic rifles.

They are coming together in smaller, loosely organized groups that recruit on the Internet and find inspiration from the tea party movement.

On Monday, several thousand gun owners plan to mount two protests—a march in Washington and an "open-carry" rally in Mount Vernon, Va.

"More and more the gun-rights movement is moving toward a stand-up-and-shout approach," said Jeff Knox, director of the Firearms Coalition, a for-profit, loose-knit coalition of activists. "There's a lot of general frustration with NRA not taking a hard enough line."

Data on how many owners are joining the splinter groups are scant, because many are newly organized, and tend to seek contributions over formal memberships. In addition, some gun owners join more than one group. Mr. Knox estimated that the splinter groups had one million to 1.5 million members or regular contributors.

The NRA is "no longer absolutely the 800-pound gorilla" in the pro-gun movement, said Gary Marbut, a life member of the NRA and president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, an NRA affiliate. "The NRA is running the risk of becoming insignificant, of fading into the background."

Some gun owners, saying that the National Rifle Association isn't battling hard enough for their rights, are taking the fight into their own hands.

The 4.3 million-member NRA, one of the most powerful and well-funded lobbying groups in Washington, has for 35 years dominated the push to expand gun rights.

But its strategies aren't aggressive or imaginative enough for some gun owners who want to openly carry holstered pistols in public places, or to exploit loopholes in state gun laws to purchase semi-automatic rifles.

They are coming together in smaller, loosely organized groups that recruit on the Internet and find inspiration from the tea party movement.

On Monday, several thousand gun owners plan to mount two protests—a march in Washington and an "open-carry" rally in Mount Vernon, Va.

"More and more the gun-rights movement is moving toward a stand-up-and-shout approach," said Jeff Knox, director of the Firearms Coalition, a for-profit, loose-knit coalition of activists. "There's a lot of general frustration with NRA not taking a hard enough line."

Data on how many owners are joining the splinter groups are scant, because many are newly organized, and tend to seek contributions over formal memberships. In addition, some gun owners join more than one group. Mr. Knox estimated that the splinter groups had one million to 1.5 million members or regular contributors.

The NRA is "no longer absolutely the 800-pound gorilla" in the pro-gun movement, said Gary Marbut, a life member of the NRA and president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, an NRA affiliate. "The NRA is running the risk of becoming insignificant, of fading into the background."

Some gun owners, saying that the National Rifle Association isn't battling hard enough for their rights, are taking the fight into their own hands.

The 4.3 million-member NRA, one of the most powerful and well-funded lobbying groups in Washington, has for 35 years dominated the push to expand gun rights.

But its strategies aren't aggressive or imaginative enough for some gun owners who want to openly carry holstered pistols in public places, or to exploit loopholes in state gun laws to purchase semi-automatic rifles.

They are coming together in smaller, loosely organized groups that recruit on the Internet and find inspiration from the tea party movement.

On Monday, several thousand gun owners plan to mount two protests—a march in Washington and an "open-carry" rally in Mount Vernon, Va.

"More and more the gun-rights movement is moving toward a stand-up-and-shout approach," said Jeff Knox, director of the Firearms Coalition, a for-profit, loose-knit coalition of activists. "There's a lot of general frustration with NRA not taking a hard enough line."

Data on how many owners are joining the splinter groups are scant, because many are newly organized, and tend to seek contributions over formal memberships. In addition, some gun owners join more than one group. Mr. Knox estimated that the splinter groups had one million to 1.5 million members or regular contributors.

The NRA is "no longer absolutely the 800-pound gorilla" in the pro-gun movement, said Gary Marbut, a life member of the NRA and president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, an NRA affiliate. "The NRA is running the risk of becoming insignificant, of fading into the background."

Some gun owners, saying that the National Rifle Association isn't battling hard enough for their rights, are taking the fight into their own hands.

The 4.3 million-member NRA, one of the most powerful and well-funded lobbying groups in Washington, has for 35 years dominated the push to expand gun rights.

But its strategies aren't aggressive or imaginative enough for some gun owners who want to openly carry holstered pistols in public places, or to exploit loopholes in state gun laws to purchase semi-automatic rifles.

They are coming together in smaller, loosely organized groups that recruit on the Internet and find inspiration from the tea party movement.

On Monday, several thousand gun owners plan to mount two protests—a march in Washington and an "open-carry" rally in Mount Vernon, Va.

"More and more the gun-rights movement is moving toward a stand-up-and-shout approach," said Jeff Knox, director of the Firearms Coalition, a for-profit, loose-knit coalition of activists. "There's a lot of general frustration with NRA not taking a hard enough line."

Data on how many owners are joining the splinter groups are scant, because many are newly organized, and tend to seek contributions over formal memberships. In addition, some gun owners join more than one group. Mr. Knox estimated that the splinter groups had one million to 1.5 million members or regular contributors.

The NRA is "no longer absolutely the 800-pound gorilla" in the pro-gun movement, said Gary Marbut, a life member of the NRA and president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, an NRA affiliate. "The NRA is running the risk of becoming insignificant, of fading into the background."

Some gun owners, saying that the National Rifle Association isn't battling hard enough for their rights, are taking the fight into their own hands.

The 4.3 million-member NRA, one of the most powerful and well-funded lobbying groups in Washington, has for 35 years dominated the push to expand gun rights.

But its strategies aren't aggressive or imaginative enough for some gun owners who want to openly carry holstered pistols in public places, or to exploit loopholes in state gun laws to purchase semi-automatic rifles.

They are coming together in smaller, loosely organized groups that recruit on the Internet and find inspiration from the tea party movement.

On Monday, several thousand gun owners plan to mount two protests—a march in Washington and an "open-carry" rally in Mount Vernon, Va.

"More and more the gun-rights movement is moving toward a stand-up-and-shout approach," said Jeff Knox, director of the Firearms Coalition, a for-profit, loose-knit coalition of activists. "There's a lot of general frustration with NRA not taking a hard enough line."

Data on how many owners are joining the splinter groups are scant, because many are newly organized, and tend to seek contributions over formal memberships. In addition, some gun owners join more than one group. Mr. Knox estimated that the splinter groups had one million to 1.5 million members or regular contributors.

The NRA is "no longer absolutely the 800-pound gorilla" in the pro-gun movement, said Gary Marbut, a life member of the NRA and president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, an NRA affiliate. "The NRA is running the risk of becoming insignificant, of fading into the background."

"The happy union of these states is a wonder; their Constitution is a miracle; their example the hope of liberty throughout the world. Woe to the ambition that would meditate the destruction of either!"

The nature of activism is changing; The NRA is more of an advocacy group that you pay your dues to and they lobby in DC on your behalf. Web organizing has encouraged the growth of grass roots, direct citizen action. Coupled with the fact that many gun owners feel the NRA has either been too compromising or catered towards the "wood gun" demographic, the NRA is going to have to reexamine how they do business in the future. They're not on the verge of closing the doors, but they'll need to change with the times. Their organizational abilities and access to capitol hill still makes them valuable in our cause.

Originally Posted By Mclovin5-0:The nature of activism is changing; The NRA is more of an advocacy group that you pay your dues to and they lobby in DC on your behalf. Web organizing has encouraged the growth of grass roots, direct citizen action. Coupled with the fact that many gun owners feel the NRA has either been too compromising or catered towards the "wood gun" demographic, the NRA is going to have to reexamine how they do business in the future. They're not on the verge of closing the doors, but they'll need to change with the times. Their organizational abilities and access to capitol hill still makes them valuable in our cause.

Some gun owners, saying that the National Rifle Association isn't battling hard enough for their rights, are taking the fight into their own hands.

The 4.3 million-member NRA, one of the most powerful and well-funded lobbying groups in Washington, has for 35 years dominated the push to expand gun rights.

But its strategies aren't aggressive or imaginative enough for some gun owners who want to openly carry holstered pistols in public places, or to exploit loopholes in state gun laws to purchase semi-automatic rifles.

They are coming together in smaller, loosely organized groups that recruit on the Internet and find inspiration from the tea party movement.

On Monday, several thousand gun owners plan to mount two protests—a march in Washington and an "open-carry" rally in Mount Vernon, Va.

"More and more the gun-rights movement is moving toward a stand-up-and-shout approach," said Jeff Knox, director of the Firearms Coalition, a for-profit, loose-knit coalition of activists. "There's a lot of general frustration with NRA not taking a hard enough line."

Data on how many owners are joining the splinter groups are scant, because many are newly organized, and tend to seek contributions over formal memberships. In addition, some gun owners join more than one group. Mr. Knox estimated that the splinter groups had one million to 1.5 million members or regular contributors.

The NRA is "no longer absolutely the 800-pound gorilla" in the pro-gun movement, said Gary Marbut, a life member of the NRA and president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, an NRA affiliate. "The NRA is running the risk of becoming insignificant, of fading into the background."

Wow another hit piece on the NRA. Of course they quote Jeff Knox, son of Neal Knox the outspoken NRA basher. If the Knox's opinion is so great then why don't they have 4.3 million members following them? They are on the fringe and exclude people that don't agree with them. The NRA is an all inclusive group that represents all firearm owners. In order to do that they can't take a hard line approach or as the FUDDs would have it take a softer approach. The NRA is doing it just about right given the number of opinions and views of the entire firearms community. Anyone that thinks they can do it better should go form their own organization and become more powerful than the NRA based on your own merits. No one has done things, the only organizations that exist are NRA bashing organizations that pick up the disgruntled NRA members.

Q: How can I reduce the amount of mail I receive from the NRA?

A: Email membership@nrahq.org or dial 800-NRA-3888 and request to be placed on the "Do Not Promote" list.

If Obama takes a swipe at gun ownership on the Federal level, only the NRA can stop him. I believe that Obama has decided not to turn that rock over because of the NRA. Until and unless he does that, the NRA will not seem significant to the uninformed, in spite of it's long term, in-depth penetration and support. Local "stand up and shout" orgs are important, as are national "stand up and shout" orgs. But they can't do what the NRA can do. We need everyone and everything.

NRA Parton Life Member
JPFO founding member
GOA member
Georgia Carry
AFRCOM

I don't think the NRA is obsolete... what I personally think is happening is that many people are seeing the momentum shift, and are doing whatever they can to supplement the forces that have gained us ground.

The NRA isn't the ONLY thing we should be relying on.

The way I see it, the more the better.

"The nation is divided, half patriots and half traitors, and no man can tell which from which." - Mark Twain

I do think that the NRA fights for our gun rights in much the same manner that .gov fights the "war on drugs": They fight for a standstill, always keeping
it in "crisis mode" which guarantees plenty of funding. This ensures that the paid members of the board continue to get an assured paycheck.

They are fighting not to win, but to keep fighting and getting paid for it.

It's about lifetime employment.

CJ

"Now they will know why they are afraid of the dark. Now they will learn why they fear the night."....Thulsa Doom

"My body is a temple." "No, it's an amusement park. Have a beer."...Hellboy

Originally Posted By cmjohnson:I do think that the NRA fights for our gun rights in much the same manner that .gov fights the "war on drugs": They fight for a standstill, always keeping
it in "crisis mode" which guarantees plenty of funding. This ensures that the paid members of the board continue to get an assured paycheck.

They are fighting not to win, but to keep fighting and getting paid for it.

It's about lifetime employment.

CJ

yea, Ill go with this..

I also think they stay away from major issues like NFA/Class III stuff as well.

The NRA would have alot more members if they did not charge the fees.
There are many people who would join together and help out a cause but won't give their money for nothing.
Hearing a number like 4.3 million members gives alot of people the idea that there are only 4.3 million people who want guns.The real number of people wanting their gun rights to stand or expand is much greater.Having a non paying member status could get a huge member count and help the cause.

Some gun owners, saying that the National Rifle Association isn't battling hard enough for their rights, are taking the fight into their own hands.

The 4.3 million-member NRA, one of the most powerful and well-funded lobbying groups in Washington, has for 35 years dominated the push to expand gun rights.

But its strategies aren't aggressive or imaginative enough for some gun owners who want to openly carry holstered pistols in public places, or to exploit loopholes in state gun laws to purchase semi-automatic rifles.

They are coming together in smaller, loosely organized groups that recruit on the Internet and find inspiration from the tea party movement.

On Monday, several thousand gun owners plan to mount two protests—a march in Washington and an "open-carry" rally in Mount Vernon, Va.

"More and more the gun-rights movement is moving toward a stand-up-and-shout approach," said Jeff Knox, director of the Firearms Coalition, a for-profit, loose-knit coalition of activists. "There's a lot of general frustration with NRA not taking a hard enough line."

Data on how many owners are joining the splinter groups are scant, because many are newly organized, and tend to seek contributions over formal memberships. In addition, some gun owners join more than one group. Mr. Knox estimated that the splinter groups had one million to 1.5 million members or regular contributors.

The NRA is "no longer absolutely the 800-pound gorilla" in the pro-gun movement, said Gary Marbut, a life member of the NRA and president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, an NRA affiliate. "The NRA is running the risk of becoming insignificant, of fading into the background."

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.~Martin Luther King, Jr.

As a gun owner, I am fucking sick and tired of the NRA not standing up for our rights, all of them. They love the FUD guns and are all about hunting, but anything about self defense and the pure want for cool toys and they get all quiet and just take your money.

They have contacts, but will sell the class III guys and the ar/ak.........anything any military uses cowd out in a new you minute.

unless the NRA gets a more public well known face ala Chuck Heston, and actually starts to LISTEN to the membership
it may well be destined to fail..

Ted needs to shout more.., Selleck needs to get re-involved and LOUD,
HUNDREDS of other Hollywood types are closet conservative Pro Gunners needs to come OUT as well....
I have written, called and emailed the NRA,,as I have the Congress, seeminly to little avail.

CHEF

SOCIALISM, COMMUNISM AND FACISM ONLY WORK WHEN THE BOOT HEEL OF THE LEADERSHIP CLASS IS ON THE NECK OF THE WORKING CLASS, PICKING ITS POCKETS FOR THE LEISURE CLASSfighting communists since 1969

I am waiting to see how the current elections for Board Of Directors goes. If a guy like Joaquin Jackson is re-elected after his public idiocy. I have some very difficult decisions to ponder. The fear the NRA puts into the antis is a very powerful tool & I'd like to know how bad the laws would be without the NRA. We do a ton of good, but just like ejecting RINOs from congress.

Guys like Jackson should not be in positions of power. They run off folks who are sick of constant compromise and their elitist beliefs are a cancer inside the organization. It's one thing to carefully approach some of the more delicate subjects, due to not wanting to alienate the general public, & quite another to completely avoid them. We'll see how the elections go... If a bunch of folks get together in a "Tea Party" sort of affiliation regarding firearms, I hope it doesn't turn into a giant clusterfuck that does more harm, than good.

Kind of like the GOP, I really see chances to improve it. The NRA needs some shaping up, too. We'll see if the leadership actually is willing to listen more to regular folks, or simply pacify the elitists.

if you search for " Gun-Rights Advocates Open a New Front " on news.google.com it will show a link to the complete WJS arcticle.
Linking directly to WSJ from here doesn't show the complete article though.

Originally Posted By regalrocket:While that article is written like crap, I agree.

As a gun owner, I am fucking sick and tired of the NRA not standing up for our rights, all of them. They love the FUD guns and are all about hunting, but anything about self defense and the pure want for cool toys and they get all quiet and just take your money.

They have contacts, but will sell the class III guys and the ar/ak.........anything any military uses cowd out in a new you minute.

I agree. And it was very evident to me when I took the RSO course." Never refer to the thing as a weapon, it's a gun" was told to me over a dozen times, everytime I used the word weapon. I finally said to the instructor, "It's a fucking weapon. It's meant to destroy what you point it at".

I was constantly told to "never point a gun at another person" and my response was then how do I shoot that person if I want to shoot them?

The NRA is all about target practice. It has bowed to the PC bullshit invented by the Left.

Originally Posted By LibertyShip:If Obama takes a swipe at gun ownership on the Federal level, only the NRA can stop him. I believe that Obama has decided not to turn that rock over because of the NRA. Until and unless he does that, the NRA will not seem significant to the uninformed, in spite of it's long term, in-depth penetration and support. Local "stand up and shout" orgs are important, as are national "stand up and shout" orgs. But they can't do what the NRA can do. We need everyone and everything.

NRA Parton Life Member
JPFO founding member
GOA member
Georgia Carry
AFRCOM

This.

The NRA is a Federal lobbying orgnaization. They have remained quiet because Obama has not proposed any new gun control, kinda like saving your ammo for when you need it.

If the NRA was lobbying hard now they would simply be ineffective when we need them.

Another way of looking at it: the NRA is so powerful that Obama has decided NOT to poke that hornets nest.

The reason why a lot of people are frustrated with the NRA is because the NRA does not like to do the public protests, the empty holster events, or the unloaded gun get togethers. The NRA has long feared that such events would lead to bad publicity and harm the institution. That is an understandable fear, the problem is people have stopped waiting around for the NRA to lead them, and have started organizing the events on their own.

In the past gun owners need the NRA and it's magazine publications or the NRA-ILA to help coordinate events for gun owners. But now gun owners can organize on-line using sites like ARFCOM, or other sites, and get together and hold their own protests, without the NRA's involvement. The first couple of times people do these kind of protests it is a little scary, but once they got the experience they understand how to better organize and network. Similar to the TEA Parties, now people realize they don't need the Republican Party or in this case the NRA to hold or organize a protest/gathering/meeting/whatever. Once that happens it becomes easy for people to view groups like the NRA largely irrelevant.

It should be a wake up call for people in charge at the NRA.

"A good friend will help you move. A really good friend will help you move a body. A best friend will hold your enemy down while you get your gun." T.S. Leopard.

The NRA is the reason any of you still has a gun. they are and will be the 800lb gorilla for a long time. They are growing in membership very fast right now. It's better to reform from within and if you leave them then they will certainly compromise in the future, so join with them and reform them from within.

Just like you don't need the RNC to donate to candidates in other states (took me 5 minutes apiece to donate to Brown, Hayworth, and Rubio) the internet has opened numerous grass roots venues at the local and regional levels for promoting the 2nd.

That doesn't mean the NRA is obsolete. It's an enhancement, not an either/or.

"It's my job to have kids, Mr. Mayor, and your job to take care of them." -welfare mother, screaming at then NYC mayor John Lindsay- The Myth of the Working Poor by Steve Malanga

Originally Posted By cmjohnson:I do think that the NRA fights for our gun rights in much the same manner that .gov fights the "war on drugs": They fight for a standstill, always keeping
it in "crisis mode" which guarantees plenty of funding. This ensures that the paid members of the board continue to get an assured paycheck.

They are fighting not to win, but to keep fighting and getting paid for it.

It's about lifetime employment.

CJ

yea, Ill go with this..

I also think they stay away from major issues like NFA/Class III stuff as well.

I think the NRA might lose some traction if they went full bore reducing the regs on NFA toys. I think it is best that the push for that comes from the grassroots. Let the NRA remain silent on the issue. I am perfectly happy to play good cop bad cop if it serves our ends.

Always win if you can. If you can't win, make sure the other side loses.

Originally Posted By callgood:Just like you don't need the RNC to donate to candidates in other states (took me 5 minutes apiece to donate to Brown, Hayworth, and Rubio) the internet has opened numerous grass roots venues at the local and regional levels for promoting the 2nd.
That doesn't mean the NRA is obsolete. It's an enhancement, not an either/or.

Bolded for truth.

The NRA is a great organization that, due to its nature, can't do everything. Some things should be done at the grassroots; others she be handled by the NRA.

Always win if you can. If you can't win, make sure the other side loses.

Originally Posted By cmjohnson:I do think that the NRA fights for our gun rights in much the same manner that .gov fights the "war on drugs": They fight for a standstill, always keeping
it in "crisis mode" which guarantees plenty of funding. This ensures that the paid members of the board continue to get an assured paycheck.

They are fighting not to win, but to keep fighting and getting paid for it.

It's about lifetime employment.

CJ

yea, Ill go with this..

I also think they stay away from major issues like NFA/Class III stuff as well.

I think the NRA might lose some traction if they went full bore reducing the regs on NFA toys. I think it is best that the push for that comes from the grassroots. Let the NRA remain silent on the issue. I am perfectly happy to play good cop bad cop if it serves our ends.

Many of the bashers here are so ignorant as to believe the NRA could repeal all firearm laws if they just "wanted to." That level of ignorance is astounding.

WSJ article copied, linked, and bolded on the front page of FOX News. They might not have written it, but they obviously support the view of the author.

Murdock owns The WSJ and Fox News. It's well known he uses Fox News to channel people into subscriptions with the WSJ, which are well worth the money. The complete article as printed on A3 today is a much better read of the whole situation.

"There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder." - Ronald Reagan

Originally Posted By cmjohnson:
I do think that the NRA fights for our gun rights in much the same manner that .gov fights the "war on drugs": They fight for a standstill, always keeping
it in "crisis mode" which guarantees plenty of funding. This ensures that the paid members of the board continue to get an assured paycheck.

They are fighting not to win, but to keep fighting and getting paid for it.

It's about lifetime employment.

CJ

Spot on.

If God didn't want us to eat animals, why did he make them out of meat?

Originally Posted By cmjohnson:I do think that the NRA fights for our gun rights in much the same manner that .gov fights the "war on drugs": They fight for a standstill, always keeping
it in "crisis mode" which guarantees plenty of funding. This ensures that the paid members of the board continue to get an assured paycheck.

They are fighting not to win, but to keep fighting and getting paid for it.

It's about lifetime employment.

CJ

Spot on.

What would constitute a "game over––you win" situation? What would have to happen before the NRA can cease to exist?